U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials : Biondi Goes Fast and Easy--to World Record

The water was still churning wildly in the University of Texas Swim Stadium pool when Matt Biondi threw his arms in the air. He had just set his newest world record, a 48.42-second 100-meter freestyle that had the crowd going crazy on the third day of the Phillips 66/U.S. Swimming Long Course National Championships, which serve as the U.S. Olympic trials.

It was an amazing race, with eight of the world’s fastest swimmers scrambling to finish among the top two and earn the right to swim the 100 for the United States in the Olympic Games at Seoul, or to finish in the top four to be assured of a spot on the U.S. 400-meter relay team, or to finish at least in the top six to have a chance at a spot on the roster.

Rowdy Gaines, making one more comeback at 29, squinted at the numbers on the board for the longest time, shook his head and then studied the numbers some more. He was timed in 50.21 seconds, just .04 of a second slower than the time in which he won the Olympic gold medal in 1984.

In this race, it left him seventh. Not even on the roster.

Chris Jacobs, a recent University of Texas graduate, was second to Biondi (a University of California graduate) in 49.45. Tom Jager, a UCLA graduate, was third in 49.91. And Troy Dalbey, the youngster of this impressive relay team at 19, was fourth in 49.91.

All four members of the 400-meter freestyle relay were faster than 50 seconds.

“We are going to win the gold in the relay by half a pool length,” Gaines said. U.S. Coach Richard Quick didn’t state it quite so strongly, but he was smiling when he said that the U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team would be “very, very tough to beat.”

Quick called Biondi’s world record a “tremendous highlight.” Gaines called it “awesome.”

Biondi, who set the old mark of 48.74 in 1986, called his performance Wednesday the result of swimming with “easy speed.” He didn’t push it. As UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden used to say, be quick, but don’t hurry. Biondi said, “I was just trying to keep my kick down so I would have it coming home.”

For Jager, making the 400-meter relay team was a bonus. His premier event is the 50, which he’ll swim Friday, going up against Biondi again. Both Jager and Biondi have, in the past, held the world record in the 50.

Janet Evans of the Fullerton Aquatic Sports Team won her second event of the trials, finishing about a second off her own world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle. Evans took the national title and the top spot on the Olympic team with a 4:06.43, getting more competition than she’s seen lately as Tami Bruce and Mitzi Kremer raced for the other spot on the Olympic roster. Bruce beat Kremer, 4:07.89 to 4:08.05.

Betsy Mitchell, the world record-holder in the 200-meter backstroke, won the 100-meter title in 1:01.94, just ahead of Beth Barr, 16, of the Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club, who earned the other spot with a 1:02.03.

Despite going in as the favorite and swimming in her “home” pool, the recent Texas graduate, who won the silver medal in the 100 backstroke in the 1984 Olympics, admitted to being “very, very nervous.” She said, “It’s a lot harder to do what everyone expects you to do than to do what no one expects you to do . . . And this field is a lot tougher than in 1984.”

The men’s 200-meter backstroke was won by Dan Veatch of the Mission Bay Makos, a 23-year-old graduate of Princeton who is still swimming to make up for his 1984 disappointment. Four years ago, when Rick Carey (who finished 20th at this meet) was dominating the backstroke events, Veatch let himself get psyched out and finished third, becoming the alternate. “Having to live for four years as the alternate on the Olympic team is not an easy thing to do,” Veatch said.

Swimming Notes

U.S. Olympic Coach Richard Quick, who has led the University of Texas women’s swim team to four national titles in his six years as head coach of the Longhorns, acknowledged Wednesday evening that he was considering taking the job of women’s swim coach at Stanford, replacing George Haines, who retired. Quick said that he already had talked with athletic officials at both Texas and Stanford, and that the decision would be made after the trials. “A decision will be made and announced after the trials but before Seoul,” Quick said. He also said that the Stanford job was the only one that could possibly lure him away from Texas. “Both school have the same philosophy towards their women’s programs, that you can have excellence in academics and excellence in athletics,” Quick said. Too, Stanford is one of the country’s best women’s swim teams. If Quick goes, that will open up a top job here, starting a domino effect among coaches. The coach being mentioned to replace Quick is Mission Bay Coach Mark Schubert, formerly the coach at Mission Viejo.